Pharmacist On the Street: HPV

CU pharmacy students, Nashel Patel and Tracie Vanhorn took to the “streets” of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to see what students and faculty know about Human papillomavirus (HPV) and the vaccine.

HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection with over 150 different subtypes. It affects about 80 million Americans currently, with an estimated 14 million being newly infected each year. HPV can cause genital warts and cancers in both men and women and according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 80% of people that are sexually active will get it in their lifetime. The HPV vaccine series, Gardasil 9, is important to discuss with your provider and pharmacist in order to protect against the harmful strains of the disease. The FDA recently expanded the recommended age for the vaccine to ages 9-45 years old. For more information click here.